Today's News: Our Take - Randy Travis Pleads Not Guilty to Assault

Country singer Randy Travis pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor assault in the Dallas suburb of Plano on Friday, Reuters reports.

Travis' lawyer, Peter A. Schulte, told the news agency that Travis, 53, is "absolutely not guilty of this crime."

Police claim that Travis assaulted a man in church parking lot in Plano in August while he was attempting to intervene in a disagreement between a woman he was with and the woman's estranged husband. Schulte said the woman Travis was with and his daughter were being harassed by two men. "He was actually being a good Samaritan at the time, stepping in to save two women from being assaulted," Schulte said.

The alleged incident came just weeks after Travis was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after he was found lying naked near his wrecked car on a north Texas highway. According to a police report, police accused him of threatening to shoot and kill the troopers investigating the case.

Schulte said Travis has been doing well since, and said his client was upbeat on Friday as he left court. "He turned and wished everybody who was there a merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year," Schulte said.

Travis faces a maximum $500 fine for the alleged misdemeanor and no jail time. The case is set for trial March 11.